The massive storm on the East Coast that's claimed dozens of lives and wiped out entire communities is already expected to cause over $50 billion in damage. Handfuls of volunteers from various Minnesota agencies have been dispatched to help with emergency relief efforts. Waves up to 20 feet tall have stalled cargo shipping on the Great Lakes and dozens of flights out of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport were cancelled Tuesday.

As of 4 a.m. Monday, about 40 flights had been canceled from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to East Coast destinations including Baltimore, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C., WCCO reports. Hurricane Sandy's widespread effects could create 12-foot waves on Lake Superior, the AP reports. The hurricane is on a path to make landfall in New Jersey late Monday or early Tuesday.

Target Corp. is among the retailers making donations as relief efforts continue in response to the destruction caused Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast. The Minneapolis-based retailer is donating $500,000 in funds and products. Golden Valley-based General Mills is also contributing $250,000 to the recovery efforts.

Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly will not be outlining his turnaround strategy with investors on Thursday in New York, Reuters reports. The Richfield-based consumer electronics retailer has canceled the meeting with Wall Street analysts while the East Coast recovers from Hurricane Sandy. A new date for the meeting has not been set.

Travelers should check their flight status before heading to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport because of another powerful nor'easter that's approaching the East Coast. USA reports about 1,700 flights have already been canceled as of noon Wednesday. Delta Air Lines is among carriers waiving the usual change fees and asking passengers to reschedule their flights to the region.

Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy says about three-dozen crew members from Minnesota and another eight from western Wisconsin are headed to West Virginia to help rebuild electricity distribution systems destroyed by East Coast superstorm, Fox 9 reports. Roughly 6.5 million people from Maine to the Carolinas were still without power as of early Wednesday morning.

Nisswa native John Svendsen was among the crew that abandoned the ship HMS Bounty in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of North Carolina as Hurricane Sandy churned its way up the East Coast. He and other shipmates talk about the difficult decision they had to make to leave the ship to sink in order to save their own lives. Two were lost. The rest were rescued by the Coast Guard.

Grand Marais sea-kayakers Dave and Amy Freeman are paddling along the East Coast on the final leg of a 11,700-mile North American trek that began in April 2010, the Duluth News Tribune reports. By chance, they were in New Jersey at the same time as Hurricane Sandy. The couple lashed their kayaks to a porch and scrambled to higher ground, rode out the storm and are now mulling the future of their expedition.